How to successfully sell your house

When it comes to selling a house, there’s plenty of advice about how to make it more attractive to potential buyers so that you can sell it quicker and get a higher asking price. Unfortunately however, there’s a lot more to the process than just this and the more prepared you are for it, the more likely it is to be a success.

Establish what your next move is

If you’re selling your house, chances are that you’re going to need somewhere else to live. Although the buying and selling process isn’t always straightforward, try to have some kind of an idea about what and where your next property is going to be.

You don’t need to have anything set in stone at this stage but forming a realistic idea of your requirements, getting a feel for property prices in your desired area and registering with local estate agents means that you will at least know what to expect.

Research your sale

Before you even think of putting your property on the market, it’s wise to find out how much your house is worth and whether or not this is a good time to sell. It’s also a good idea to get a feel for the market with regards to the type of property you’re looking for and in the location you want.

Get a mortgage

Whether you’re a first-time buyer or you’re moving up the property ladder, you will need to get a mortgage in place. Organising this from the start means that you know exactly how much you can afford to borrow. Furthermore, getting a mortgage in principle means you will stand a much better chance of having your offer accepted on a new home.

Find an estate agent

Once you’re certain that you want to put your house on the market then you will need to find an estate agent. They will be able to value your property, market it, organise viewings and deal with any negotiations.

Find a conveyancing solicitor

A conveyancing solicitor will be able to take care of everything from arranging for your title deeds to be recovered to drafting any contracts and issuing you with the seller property information questionnaires.

Your conveyancing solicitor will be your greatest ally throughout this process so make sure that you take them time to find a good one.

Put your house on the market

Once you have everything in place, it’s time to put your house on the market. Although there are no guarantees about how long it will take to complete, generally you can expect the following timescales:

Preparing yourself and the property for sale – 2 to 3 weeks

Finding a buyer – 4 to 8 weeks

Putting in an offer on a new house and exchanging contracts on both the sale of your house and the purchase of your new property – 8 to 14 weeks

Complete the transactions – 2 – 4 weeks

This means that it can take anywhere between four and nearly eight months. It’s worth noting however that a good conveyancing solicitor may be able to reduce this time. Doing your research thoroughly beforehand can also help to speed up the process because you know that there won’t be any unexpected surprises along the way.